Repainting your home...

[mm125183]

Hello

I have a 3 yr old cockatiel I adopted 2 yrs ago. I haven't repainted since I got him but am planning to paint a few rooms with matt emulsion.

Can anyone tell me whether there is there any danger with non-solvent based paint? Should I confine him to one other room for a day, two days...?

He doesn't love change/likes to roam but I don't want to poison him. I'm aware of the other dangers such as non-stick pans, perfumes, etc.

Thanks for any advice

Amanda

 

[aboyce76]

So glad you asked this question. We are about to move into a new to us home and I can't stand plain beige walls. I need COLOR!!! But I am worried about my babies as well. Can't wait to see what responses you get!

 

[WannaBeAParrot]

Pretty much all commerical paint has some level of toxicity in the fumes. I think there is a type of super-duper expensive paint out there now that is extrememly low, which might be worth looking in to. Our painter used good water-based Porter paint, supposedly with lower toxic fumes. However, I still chose to keep my fid out of the house completely for a few weeks because the whole house was painted. I think it depends on how much you can air out the house, i.e. keeping windows / doors open and letting the fumes not build up.

We live in sub-tropical climate and the central a/c is on a lot, so we didn't get to air out all the time.

It would be best ot get him used to visiting an unpainted room instead of just moving him there cold. I would keep him there for at least a week if possible, assuming you can air out the painted rooms pretty well and use a low VOC paint. Also, if the safe room shares circulating central air system, keep in mind that your fid will be getting the same air, but not direct exposure to the paint.

 

[weco]

Because of the increase in human sensitivity to various paint formulas, virtually all paint manufacturers offer both low VOC and zero VOC (volatile organic compound) products. Many governments and regulatory agencies have even set implementation dates that these products must be used in areas accessed by humans and/or animals.....

In the U.S & Canada, you would ask for latex paints with either low or zero VOCs.....I assume the same is true in the UK and elsewhere also.....

Just from an informational standpoint, a South African company apparently has marketed a water based Alkyd paint (oil) with zero VOCs.....previously, alkyd paints were used for trims & mouldings where you might want a harder and/or glossier finish.....those are the paints that normally stunk, with their smell lingering for long periods.....

Good luck.....

 

[Mayden]

Being in the UK I'd probably go with dulex's water based paints.

When I was painting my bedroom, my fids would be kept downstairs in the livingroom with all windows open in the house, except the door and windows of the room the fids were in (To stop any fumes circling around and back into their 'safe' room). I basically made it so my babies were on the opposite (top vs bottom) of the house etc. I've not had any problems using the dulex water based and just making sure the rest of the house is ventilated

 

[mm125183]

Thanks for all of the advice everyone. I was actually looking at the Dulux water-based colours anyway so will go for that make. I'll ventilate well and keep him furthest away from each area for at least a week then - with the least moving him around possible. Better safe than crying.

 

[Kiran]

I've had my home painted twice over the last year. The first time, I kept the cockatiels in one room while the other room was being painted. The cage was placed near an open window. All doors of that room were closed to prevent any fumes reaching the birds. This painting took 2 weeks. All my birds were fine after.

Last month, the outer metal grille past my windows were being painted and the cage was too large (I have 5 interconnected cages) so I personally stood there and supervised that the paint bucket was kept outside the window (on the metal grille) , other paint buckets were kept outside the room and all windows were open for cross ventilation. The room my birds are in is 30 feet long x 25 feet wide so there's a lot of windows. This job took 2 days (it was only the metal grille) and my birds did just fine!

Hope this experience helps. Good luck! <3

 

[SweetBird]

When I was still living with my parents, they decided to repaint the bedrooms, which is where I kept mt tiels. The painter was excellent about keeping my birds in mind, I think she had a bird herself IIRC. We moved them to a guest room, put a 'draft blocker' at the base of the door, and she taped off the central air vent just in case. She also used a low/no VOC paint up stairs. I decided to keep the birds out of the freshly painted area for about a week, and they were fine.

 

[mm125183]

Thanks.

I'm painting today, yes doing exactly that, keep the door closed for the room with the bird and used a draft blocker. The UK Dulux brand of paint seems good as recommended European VOC limit is 30g per litre of matt paint and mine is less than 1g.

Another thing to be wary of is carpet. I didn't realise they need to join pieces by heat seaming sometimes which gives off fumes but luckily the husband/wife team I hired kept birds themselves so spent the time helping me move him.